


The Amazing Avatar

by randomissile



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Marvel Cinematic Universe Fusion, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/F, what did i get myself into???
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-10-27 14:43:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17768738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/randomissile/pseuds/randomissile
Summary: In Republic City, a government agency known as the White Lotus has kept the citizens safe from insurmountable events by utilizing a team of people with extraordinary abilities. However, the Red Lotus, a secret society determined to bring freedom to the world through anarchy, has formed its own band of superhumans and is ready to strike at the heart of the United Republic. With the world on the brink of chaos and war, the only remaining hope resides in Korra, a Varrick Industries project manager, who is about to become The Amazing Avatar!ORThe time I thought writing Legend of Korra/Korrasami in a Marvel framework was a fun idea.





	1. The Meeting

Tucked away from tours and a modern furnishing budget, Korra sat in the pastel-washed City Hall lobby thumbing through her boss’s latest book,  _ Imagivation: Give Birth to Genius Profit! _

It was both a gift and mandatory reading. The book had been handed out earlier that day at the end of Brunch and Crunch, an intense company workout focus group. Every month, the employees ran a themed obstacle course to inspire innovation. While navigating through the gauntlet, dressed in theme appropriate costumes, they yelled out product ideas. All the suggestions were accumulated and sorted by department, and then they were rewarded with an endless full breakfast buffet.

Korra usually didn’t mind Brunch and Crunch, but today’s combination rope course and mud run ( _ this month’s theme: zombies _ ) had pushed her beyond her limits. She felt as if no amount of showers or naps or dumplings would ever help her recover. Which was not the way she wanted to feel before her meeting with the President of the United Republic. She already couldn’t stand interacting with him on her best days.

For the last four years, Korra had called Republic City home. The United Republic capital was a cohesive jumble of old and new. Original stone buildings hid in the pockets of soaring metal skyscrapers, an elevated monorail system snaked through historic and modern burrows alike, and police patrolled the streets on foot and from within airships dotted across the sky. There were also more superheroes per capita than any other city in the world. It had been founded by a team of superheroes, after all. 

City Hall was nestled within one of the old pockets of downtown. It was an impressive white stone building with golden roofs and an expansive green glass dome. Much like the rest of the city, it too had become an amalgamation of time and progress. Historically important rooms were preserved and roped off for tourists and school field trips. The rest of the building was a constant surprise. It was extremely easy to walk through at least three different eras while traveling from one wing of the building to the other. Multiplied by the numerous floors, decorating chaos ensued.

Although Korra had hoped the required reading would somehow keep her alert, it had the opposite effect; her mind wandered and her eyelids grew heavy as she read and reread the same few paragraphs. She felt herself slowly leaning into a more comfortable position. The peach colored chair with unknown stains was about to become the location of a very unprofessional nap, until an amused voice pulled Korra back.

“I had the same reaction to Varrick’s last book.”

When Korra opened her eyes, she was met with a sea of wavy black hair framing a pair of light green eyes. The woman who had taken the seat next to her looked vaguely familiar, but Korra couldn’t remember why.

Korra yawned reflexively into the book.

The woman gave a small laugh that reached her eyes. “I couldn’t agree more.”

Accompanied by her best lopsided grin, Korra flashed her Varrick Global Industries badge. “Just don’t tell my boss.”

“I won’t, if you won’t.” The woman lifted her own badge: Future Industries. “I wouldn’t want our companies to be at odds.”

The sarcasm surprised a laugh out of Korra. Varrick Global Industries and Future Industries had fought over nearly every contract in the city. Transportation, housing, public health, energy, defense--the list was seemingly inexhaustible. The odds of having previously met in a professional setting shot up.

Korra leaned in closer to the woman, who mirrored her action in return. She looked to be about Korra’s age--maybe they had crossed paths socially? They were near enough now that Korra could reach out and--

“I have to ask…” Korra couldn’t help glancing down at the woman’s lips, which were dark red, and then meeting her eyes again. She felt her face flush. “Do...do I have any drool on my face?”

The woman looked down at Korra’s lips and kept her gaze there for longer than Korra expected. Which made Korra’s already flushed face--well, flushier.

“You are…” The woman met Korra’s gaze again with a smile. “...drool free.”

Korra extended her hand. “I’m Korra.”

The woman grasped Korra’s hand firmly. “Asami.”

And that was the exact moment when Korra realized why this woman--the woman she was sitting next to and talking to--was familiar. She was Asami Sato.  _ The _ Asami Sato of Future Industries. A photo of her and her father had been on the front page of The Republic Reporter a few months back. Daughter of Hiroshi Sato, the founder and CEO of Future Industries. She’d even appeared on an advertisement billboard last year on the corner of Third and Vine modeling someone’s new spring collection. She was all trust funds, good connections, and Daddy’s little girl.

But in holding her hand, Korra was struck by the contrast. Her palm was rough. Aged calluses and dry skin slightly cracked on the knuckles. None of which Korra would have expected from a wealthy socialite.

Then it was over. Her hand was gone. The emptiness it left behind tugged at Korra’s curiosity. She wondered how to reconcile what the world assumed of Asami Sato and what secrets her hand had revealed. Korra wanted to learn more about Asami and her hands.

“President Raiko will see you now.” Wenyan, Raiko’s staff manager, stood in front of them. His dramatic pompadour was higher than usual. Korra could always guess the importance of a meeting by the height of Wenyan’s hair. And today’s meeting must have been  _ very _ important. “Miss Sato, will your father be joining us?”

“No, my father is on a business trip. I’m here in his place.” Asami stood. Her playfulness replaced by serious-professional-business composure.

“That’s a shame. I’m glad you were able to attend.” Wenyan then looked harshly at Korra. “And what’s Varrick’s excuse this time?”

She threw up her hands in protest. “Why do you always ask that like it’s my fault? I honestly have no idea why he misses some of these meetings. I mean...one time, I did know why--foot callus removal--but I saved you, really, from not telling you that. I mean, previously. But hey! The next time I know he’s getting hardened layers of dead skin cells scraped from his body--” Korra stood and gave Wenyan a strong pat on his arm. “--I’ll be sure to tell you.”

Korra caught Asami suppressing a smile that curled the ends of her lips. Did Asami think she was funny?

Wenyan was unamused. He turned and beckoned them to follow.

Korra was currently very aware of the distance between her lightly swinging arm and Asami’s lightly swinging arm. And their very apparent height difference. Asami was taller. Korra’s eyeline matched up directly with the base of her neck. With some quick calculations, Korra determined that even without her heeled boots, Asami would still be taller. Korra subtracted the heels and estimated she would then most likely be eye level with Asami’s nose or lips.

Suddenly realizing she had been staring awkwardly at Asami, Korra shifted her focus to retucking her shirt into her dress pants, removing all traces of the almost unprofessional nap.

Lips and arms and height differences aside, walking side-by-side with Asami Sato to the presidential meeting was strange. Not the Asami part, but the whole surprise-joint-company-meeting part. All the presidential meetings Korra attended over the last two years had been specific to contracts for Varrick Global Industries. She wasn’t sure what to expect from a meeting that included Future Industries. But at least she had more time with Asami. Korra mentally thanked Varrick for having bailed at the last minute, even if this meeting was going to be the worst.

To avoid being completely blindsided by a discussion she was not prepared for, Korra took a chance with her corporate rival. “We don’t co-own any contracts. How much of a heads up did your father give you about this meeting?”

“Not much. Did Varrick give you any clues?” Korra was relieved to hear Asami’s question. She knew just about as much as Korra did: nothing.

Normally, Korra made it a point to not schedule any off-site meetings on Brunch and Crunch day. She’d felt annoyed and slightly betrayed when, shortly after lunch, Zhu Li had updated her work calendar. There were no notations, no further correspondence, just a title ( _ Incredibly Boring Meeting with the President _ ), time ( _ 3pm _ ), and location ( _ City Hall _ ). A last-minute meeting, meant for Varrick ( _ made by Varrick - please see title _ ), that was pawned off on her.

“That’s my intel.” Korra handed Asami her phone with the calendar event open. Asami chuckled.

At the sight of Asami’s smile combined with the sound of her warm-toned laugh, Korra felt a small flutter. She had always enjoyed making someone laugh, but this feeling tugged a little deeper than usual.

Asami motioned ahead as she handed Korra back her phone and regained her professional composure. “Well, whatever it is, it looks like the White Lotus is involved.”

At the end of the corridor stood two armed guards framing a doorway, bearing the White Lotus insignia on their shoulders. Wenyan walked past the guards and into the room.

“Oh…” Asami held a closed hand to her chin, her index finger resting at the base of her bottom lip, and her brow furrowed in concentration. “I bet this is about the meteorite.”

Last week, the Twin Spirits comet had made its highly anticipated appearance. The double tailed comet was the astrological event of the century. Instead of the expected fiery streak, the comet dipped too far into the atmosphere and then broke apart. Most of the fragments burned in a beautiful shower that eclipsed every firework show Korra had ever seen. But one meteorite found its way to Avatar Park.

The witness videos and photos were of either a glowing object in the middle of a small crater or a catalogue of the destruction due to the resulting low-grade shock wave. Luckily, despite multiple glass related injuries, no one was killed and no buildings sustained structural damage. Those who approached the meteorite described its radiating heat as physically unbearable. No one stayed too close for long.

At first only the park was off limits, but then the surrounding blocks were evacuated and cordoned off. Any information provided by the city regarding the lockdown was kept brief and lacked substance. After a few days the police presence became a military presence and the news headlines ran wild:

  Your Chances of Surviving a Space Virus Outbreak

  Aliens: Are They Here for a Picnic?

  Raiko’s Comet Cover Up

  Don’t Fear the Apocalypse, Embrace the End

  Armed Forces, Our Last Defense

  How to Lower Meteorite Stress

Korra internally cursed Varrick. If this meeting was about the meteorite, the White Lotus wasn’t looking for Varrick Global Industries’ help. They were looking for Varrick’s help. Korra managed projects and met with clients; she did not handle superhero issues. Varrick was the superhero.

She let out a heavy sigh and exchanged a concerned look with Asami, who seemed just as uneasy as Korra felt. “Great,” she muttered, under her breath, and then they entered the room.


	2. The Other Meeting

Typically, Korra’s meetings with Raiko were, at best, just him and a handful of his staff. Not today. This room was filled with the usual attendees plus a cluster of city officials, White Lotus agents, and a stern-faced woman with an eye patch. She only had one eye, but Korra felt as if she had ten, all glaring and gleamy and watching and judging.

Asami and Korra handed over their connected devices to be placed in the room’s security locker. They then sat in the two remaining seats--the clearly avoided seats--directly across from the stern-faced woman.

The White Lotus agent who was hunched behind a laptop peered over the screen. Korra recognized the thick pointy eyebrows instantly. The last time she’d seen Mako he was a Republic City detective, not a White Lotus agent. This was new. She shot him a raised eyebrow. He caught her eyes briefly and then hunched a little lower over his laptop. Korra made a mental note to catch up with him later.

Raiko had a campaign-grin plastered across his face. “Thank you all for joining us today.” His confidence was brimming. “As you are aware, the impact event from last week has left a portion of downtown inaccessible--”

“How much longer will the area be shut down?” Tarrlok interrupted, further solidifying his place as Korra’s least liked city official. He was aggressive, demanding, and--Korra’s favorite--manipulative. A couple of the other city officials saw this as an opportunity to strike.

“Why has the impact radius increased further?”

“The city is beginning to lose money.”

“When can we expect the city to resume its normal operation?”

“Tourism has dropped off almost completely.”

“Not to mention the accruing losses for businesses within the impact area that were forced to close.”

With each pointed attack, Raiko’s grin faltered. “Believe me, we are doing everything we can to get the city back to normal.”

Tarrlok pressed further. “We were told the closure would be a couple days at best. It’s been nearly a week now.”

Outmatched by the united front of disgruntled city officials, Raiko gestured to the prickly eye-patch. “The White Lotus, led by Agent Beifong, has been overseeing the clean up. Unfortunately, due to… unforeseen obstacles, we are behind on the projected timeline.”

Agent Beifong narrowed her eye at the officials and was met with silence. Korra admired the way she commanded the room with a single stoney look. Raiko had clearly used this tactic before. Even Tarrlok didn’t seem eager to get on her bad side.

“Agent Beifong, can you please debrief the room?”

Keeping her gaze on the city officials, Agent Beifong began. “Under _normal_ circumstances, we would have already executed a reconnaissance and extraction job days ago. Problem is, normal is far from what we have on our hands.”

She then leaned forward, arms crossed tightly, and swung an accusatory eye between Korra and Asami. “Now, I’m sure you two are wondering, how does this have diddly squat to do with me? Well, buckle up, because I didn’t want either of you.” Her eye stabbed the air in Asami’s direction. “I wanted your father.” And then toward Korra. “And your boss. But since they _both_ decided to blow this meeting, I’m stuck with you two kids instead.”

Korra narrowed her eyes at the kid reference. She was thirty-two, not twelve.

Beifong stood, stepped around her chair, and then shoved it forcibly into the table. She motioned to the still-trying-to-hide pointy eyebrows. “Agent Mako, put up the visuals.”

The lights went out and a hologram of the city appeared on the conference room table. A tiny meteorite crashed into the minituratized Republic City. An animated shock wave rippled through downtown, then the hologram zoomed into the crash site showing a small crater containing a levitating ball of fire.  

“At its core, the meteorite contained a flaming orb. Which has continued to burn with no discernable fuel source and hover a few feet off the ground.” A series of vertically projected images joined the hologram. Their commonality: destroyed metal objects.

“Any attempt to move the orb has resulted in catastrophic damage--it will just burn right through anything!” Beifong pinched the bridge of her nose. “Meanwhile, the infrared signatures show no difference in temperature readings between the orb and its surroundings.” The infrared signature readings were then added to the display.

“I’ve had a team of scientists working around the clock on a solution, but they haven’t made a dent.” Beifong pointed with her index and pinky finger. “That’s where you _two_ come in. Both of your companies have had some _interesting_ pet projects over the years. And I will continue to turn a blind eye to them, _if_ you provide your services.”

Turn a blind eye--was that a joke? Korra snorted out a small laugh that was mostly air and immediately regretted it. Beifong’s death stare slapped her into full reverse. She quickly cleared her throat. It was not a joke.

Korra wasn’t exactly sure which pet projects Beifong was referring to, unless she meant the obvious: Varrick’s unchallenged vigilante heroics and growing army of armored suits. But who didn’t already know? The Varrick Global Industries logo had been plastered across Rocket Man’s chest plate since day one. And then it only took a few months of heroics before Varrick had flown to the annual Republic City gala in the armored suit, telling reporters that he wanted to go bigger than last year: _“I revealed my secret identity! Who is going to top that? Seriously, it's not rhetorical. How am I going to outdo me next year?!”_

Asami, on the other hand, looked like she knew exactly what was being threatened. Her jaw was clenched and she had a death stare of her own aimed directly at Beifong. Coldly, she asked, “Which services, specifically, did you have in mind?”

“The services of _get-this-possessed-space-junk-out-of-my-city_ .” The two long scars running across Beifong’s cheek had reddened slightly. She then turned her sights onto the city officials. “As for the rest of you, I need cooperation from every city department. I do _not_ want to waste my time navigating political sideshows or stamping out information leaks. I’ve got enough on my plate as it is.”

Raiko’s confidence was back. “Of course, Agent Beifong. I think that is a more than fair request given the circumstances. Whatever you need, the city will provide.” The various chair squeaks and lack of dissent meant the city officials were in agreement, reluctantly.

“Great. Now unless someone has a good reason for continuing to waste my time, we’re done here. Agent Mako, please escort Miss Sato and Varrick’s hopefully competent stand-in to the quarantine site ASAP.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Korra’s chest tightened. This surprise meeting was now a surprise initial site inspection. Determined not to let one stupid meeting about one stupid meteorite throw her off, she took a few centering breaths and then refocused on treating this like any other work assignment.

For a site inspection, she would need to bring Zhu Li along to help with an initial data analysis. Zhu Li would be able to identify any commonalities or anomalies faster than Korra or literally anyone. Most people assumed she was Varrick’s overworked executive assistant, but Zhu Li was not a real person. Only a handful of Varrick Global Industries employees even knew that she was actually a secret company artificial intelligence program.

Korra shook her head at missing Beifong’s obscure threat earlier. If an artificial intelligence program that could probably take over the world was the threat against Varrick, what was the threat against Hiroshi Sato?

As the meeting ended Korra collected her phone and watch from the security locker. She decided the quickest way to get a hold of Zhu Li’s protocol was to contact Ryu. Varrick Tower was only a few blocks away and it would be much faster than having to stop there on her way over to the park. She left the conference room, walked down the hall, and leaned back against the wall.

Getting an immediate response from Ryu was not expected, or typical, but to Korra’s surprise--and to her relief--that was what happened. She had been fully prepared to send out a flurry of texts to different coworkers to get his attention since he was usually down in the labs buried in a project. He was one of the few who knew the truth about Zhu Li. And after a brief exchange, Ryu was now on his way with one of Zhu Li’s offline tablets, to meet Korra at the City Hall entrance. Perhaps her luck was improving?

Asami and Mako had not left the conference room yet so Korra took a much needed break and opened the Cabbage Run app. It was an ad-filled free game from Cabbage Corp, with terrible graphics, but the game play was highly addictive. The object of the game was to navigate a wooden cart filled with cabbages through the hazardous streets of different cities. Korra was currently on the Neo Future level - a pitch black city with neon everything.

“Hey, Korra.” Mako stood next to Korra. His expression was unsure and his hands fidgety.

Korra’s cart crashed into a motorcycle. The cart flipped over and the cabbages were scattered. Korra heard the character’s end game cry of “ _My cabbages!_ ” before shutting off the screen.

“So when did you start working for the White Lotus?”

“Uhh...a few months.”

“A _few_? And you didn’t think that was something you should have told me last month when we met up for drinks?”

“Well...umm...sorry?”

Korra lightly punched his shoulder. “You could have told me, you jerk.”

“It just happened all so fast! I was meaning to tell you next time I saw you.”

“ _Right_. Does Bolin at least know? Or are you also a jerk brother?”

“No, he knows.” Mako looked even more nervous. “I think we should all maybe go out for noodles soon so we can talk about...things.”

“Wait, there’s more?!”

“Uh, yeeaaah.”

Korra noticed Asami walking toward them. “I’m letting you off easy this time, _Agent_ Mako.”

“When have you ever made things easy for me?”

Korra flipped him off. Their combined laughter broke the tension.

“But seriously, you owe me noodles _and_ an explanation.”

Mako noded and gave Korra a genuine smile.

Asami joined them with a smile of her own. A little more strained than the easier smiles she gave Korra earlier. “Hey. Sorry, I was catching up on some emails real quick.”

“That’s all right.” Korra smiled back at Asami.

Asami looked between Korra and Mako. “I take it you two know each other?”

Korra turned to Mako with a sly grin. “I don’t know. Do we know each other, _Agent_ Mako?”

Mako’s smile disappeared. “You are not going to drop this, are you?”

“Nope,” Korra teased.

Mako threw his head back and groaned.

“Is there a problem, Agent?” Beifong called out from down the hall, arms crossed.

Snapping to attention, Mako replied, “No ma’am.”

“Then get a move on!”

“Yes ma’am!” He gave a stiff salute to a retreating Beifong.

Once Beifong was out of sight, Mako sighed. His shoulders relaxed and he began to walk back out through the maze of corridors, with Korra and Asami trailing behind. Korra had met Mako and his brother Bolin when they were all teenagers. In the beginning, Korra dated Mako on and off for a few years. It was a relationship mostly filled with high-highs and low-lows, with very little else in between. Bolin was easily the heart of the trio and had been a large part of why they were all able to remain friends afterwards. They didn’t get to see as much of each other as they used to and this small interaction reminded Korra of how much she had missed them both.

“To answer your question, Mako and I have known each other for a really long time--we’re good friends.”

Asami tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s a funny coincidence, but I also know Mako.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Although, I haven’t seen him in _years_.”

“He’s never mentioned you before. I mean, you’re _Asami Sato,_ so it’s weird he’s never talked about knowing you.”

“Well, it was when we were teenagers.”

“Was it early teens? Because I’ve known Mako since he was eighteen--I was seventeen.”

“We met when we were both eighteen.”

They exchanged curious looks before Korra’s phone vibrated. Ryu had arrived.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again to Kelie, Netty, Kim, and Kate!
> 
> Really wish Cabbage Run was an actual app...
> 
> Brief notes on my mash-up:  
> Varrick is Tony Stark, Lin Beifong is Nick Fury, and The White Lotus is SHIELD.
> 
> Artwork by me (@randomissile)
> 
> First fanart is how I picture Agent Beifong during this meeting - she is not having a good day. 
> 
> Second fanart is a faux tech magazine cover to establish that Varrick’s heroics are common knowledge.


End file.
